What should have been a standard Tuesday night clash in the WNBA turned into pure drama as the Indiana Fever powered past the Connecticut Sun 88-71 – but it’s not the scoreline people are talking about. This match had everything from eye pokes to hard fouls to a full-on scuffle that saw three players chucked from the game.
Things started to unravel in the third quarter when Caitlin Clark, Indiana’s headline-making rookie, took a finger to the eye from Connecticut’s Jacy Sheldon. Clark wasn’t having any of it and gave Sheldon a shove in response – nothing major, just a warning shot. But then Marina Mabrey stormed in and shoved Clark to the ground with some serious force. Surprisingly, despite how blatant it looked, Mabrey stayed in the game.
Fast-forward to the final minute and tensions properly boiled over. Indiana guard Sophie Cunningham seemed to take matters into her own hands, delivering a heavy foul on Sheldon as she went up for a breakaway layup. That hit was the spark – both teams got involved, a proper melee broke out, and the referees handed out ejections to Cunningham, Sheldon, and Sun’s Lindsey Allen.
After the dust settled, Fever coach Stephanie White didn’t hold back. She slammed the officiating and said poor calls are becoming a problem across the whole league. “Everybody is getting better, except the officials,” she said, clearly frustrated. “I started talking to the officials in the first quarter, and we knew this was going to happen. You could tell it was going to happen. So, they’ve got to get control of it. They’ve got to be better.”
Cunningham, who had posted a simple “Game Day” message online ahead of the match, certainly showed up with some fire. Her fierce loyalty to Clark and refusal to let the earlier eye poke slide clearly played into the dramatic ending.
Despite all the chaos, the Fever got what they came for. With this win and the Atlanta Dream’s loss to New York Liberty, Indiana punched their ticket to the Commissioner’s Cup championship game against the Minnesota Lynx on July 1. It’s a big moment for the Fever, especially with Clark leading the charge in her first WNBA season.
Clark, who’s quickly becoming one of the most talked-about names in women’s basketball, was understandably excited about what the win means for her team. “Obviously, we’re excited. It’s a big deal,” she said. “It’s a hard thing to do, and why wouldn’t we celebrate that? We’re getting to play for a pool of money – that’s pretty fun – and you’re competing to win a trophy. It’s an extra game for us to get better, as well.”
Indiana get a brief breather before they’re back on court again to face the Golden State Valkyries on 19 June. With tempers still flaring and momentum building, that next game might be just as intense – minus the scuffles, hopefully.
Finally a teammate got Caitlin Clark’s back after the assault she’s taken tonight. Sophie Cunningham you are a G. #wnba pic.twitter.com/YABrJPsMO1
— Matthew Barnett (@MatthewBarnett) June 18, 2025